Rolling contact bearings are bearings in which two components that can be moved relative to one another, an inner ring and an outer ring, are separated by rolling elements arranged in an intermediate space. The principal type of friction arising between the rolling elements and the rings is rolling friction, which is kept relatively low by appropriate lubrication.
Rolling contact bearings are used in numerous fields of engineering. Double-row angular contact ball bearings, which represent one form of rolling contact bearing, are used in turbochargers, for example. In the case of small turbochargers for the passenger and commercial vehicle sector, the lubricant is supplied by lateral injection through the outer ring. Here, it is necessary to divide the lubricant flow in advance for each row of balls. As a result, the nozzles for the lubricant are very small and can easily become blocked. Moreover, lubrication or oiling takes place against the rotating parts of the bearing and, as a result, it may be difficult to achieve reliable and efficient oiling. High system pressures are therefore often required.